May 9, 1996-Vol27n29: Speaker points out new routes to success with 'managed change'

Speaker points out new routes to success with 'managed change'

By SUE WUETCHER
News Services Staff

WHEN EDWARD F. VOBORIL came on board as president and chief executive officer of Wilson Greatbatch, Ltd., in 1991, he found a company that had been doing business the same way for 20 years.
But the business environment had been changing: the technology had advanced, and customers' needs were different. The company had to go in a different direction in order to be successful, and Voboril was brought in to do just that.
Now, after five years of "managed change," the company-which employs 600 and has $55 million in sales-recently announced a major expansion of its operations and facilities in Clarence.
This concept of "change management" or "quality improvement" was the topic of "Change at UB," a workshop organized by the University Services Task Force on Staff Development held May 1 in the Drama Theatre in the Center for the Arts.
"UB is a great institution, but it can be better," noted Voboril, the featured speaker. "But to do that, you have to change the ways the institution operates."
Robert J. Wagner, senior vice president for university services, noted that as in the case of Wilson Greatbatch, the reality at UB is changing.
"The reality isn't who's the governor and what is his or her party. It's easy to get caught in the idea that we'll just wait out the guy," Wagner said. "This is not where New York is going to be, based on the economic data."
He pointed out that the growth in personal income has declined from an annual rate of 9.4 percent in 1988 to 4.3 percent in 1996, with a projection of 4.2 percent for next year.
Moreover, in 1986-87, 90 percent of UB's operating revenues came from state tax support. That figure has declined to 49 percent in 1995-96.
"These simple economic facts say a lot about what New York is able to do in the public sector in the future. No one wants to face the economic reality; no one wants to make the tough decisions," Wagner said. "We can spend time wringing our hands or spend time making decisions on how to move the university forward."
In describing Wilson Greatbatch's movement to change, Voboril outlined eight "basic rules to follow" in order to transform an organization. The rules, adapted from an article, "Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail," by John P. Kotter, published in the Harvard Business Review:

Establish a sense of urgency. This initial step, Voboril said, "is absolutely essential to gearing up an effective change-management process." There may be an event, such as a loss of a funding source, that the organization's leadership can use to establish this sense of urgency, to communicate that "something has to change-business as usual is not acceptable."

Form a powerful guiding coalition. The organization's leadership group must be committed to change; it can't be imposed on the troops. "There has to be commitment for real change at the top; if not, it won't happen," he said. In addition, other opinion-makers in the organizations, such as rank-and-file workers who are not in leadership positions but who are influential with their co-workers, also should be included in the coalition.

Create a vision. A vision statement should address what type of organization the institution wants to be, not simply what the organization wants to do, i.e. sell more products. "You need to have everybody understand what are the most important things they need to be doing and get everyone on the same track," Voboril said.

Communicate the vision. Training is important to make sure everyone in the organization has the same level of understanding.

Empower others to act on the vision. Allow employees to use the tools and ideas introduced by the institution to effect change. Recognition across the organization is important.

Plan for and create short-term wins. "There may be areas for improvement that are obvious; focus on these first," he said. "That will convince people that what you are trying to do, works."

Consolidate improvements and produce more change. "Change is a continuous process," he said, noting that there is a danger that people will slack off if a lot is accomplished right away. "It's a process of ongoing renewal. The big paybacks come in years five to seven. Creating fundamental change is a long-term effort; it becomes a way of doing things."

Institutionalize new approaches. Once change takes hold, it becomes part of the institutional culture, he said.
Voboril noted that UB faces many different challenges than Wilson Greatbatch, but he encouraged the university "to develop a sense of commitment and vision and get on with change."
Wagner told the audience he sees four areas that must be the focus of any change-management initiative: saving jobs by retraining faculty and staff to fill other jobs within the institution; improving the quality of student services; streamlining the administration and investing in technology.
He said the type of change instituted at Wilson Greatbatch would not be put in place at UB. "It won't be university-wide in the way (Voboril) described; it will be less focused. But every unit could take the eight principles (of change management) and see how they can be applied within the unit."
President William R. Greiner agreed that UB would not be instituting change management on a university-wide basis, conceding that putting into place the process and types of changes Voboril outlined would be difficult on the academic side due to the bureaucratic structure of the various departments.
But University Services, he said "is in the leadership mode" in trying to put into place some elements of change management. The division must be dedicated to constant quality improvement--providing good service to its constituents, while helping the faculty and deans make the types of changes they must make in order to reach UB's ultimate goal of access to quality services.